An Attitude of Gratitude

I'm a fan of the 'Gratitude Journal’. I have one that I periodically write in and I love to give them as gifts. Sometimes we just don't notice all of the blessings in our lives until we start looking for them. And then I find I'm overwhelmed with just how many there are and just how loved we all our by our Heavenly Father.
                                     
I first started keeping a gratitude journal after a talk I heard at church by President Henry B Eyring, to quote just a section:

“I wrote down a few lines every day for years. I never missed a day no matter how tired I was or how early I would have to start the next day. Before I would write, I would ponder this question: “Have I seen the hand of God reaching out to touch us or our children or our family today?” As I kept at it, something began to happen. As I would cast my mind over the day, I would see evidence of what God had done for one of us that I had not recognized in the busy moments of the day. As that happened, and it happened often, I realized that trying to remember had allowed God to show me what He had done.”

But it’s not just something I’ve heard about at church. I’ve often read about university studies on the subject actually (particularly from Californian Universities for some reason!) One article that I read recently reported some of their research-based tips for reaping the greatest psychological rewards from gratitude journaling that I thought were pretty interesting:

• Don’t just go through the motions. Research by psychologist Sonja Lyubomirsky and others suggests that journaling is more effective if you first make the conscious decision to become happier and more grateful. “Motivation to become happier plays a role in the efficacy of journaling,” says Emmons.
• Go for depth over breadth. Elaborating in detail about a particular thing for which you’re grateful carries more benefits than a superficial list of many things.
• Get personal. Focusing on people to whom you are grateful has more of an impact than focusing on things for which you are grateful.
• Try subtraction, not just addition. One effective way of stimulating gratitude is to reflect on what your life would be like without certain blessings, rather than just tallying up all those good things.
• Savor surprises. Try to record events that were unexpected or surprising, as these tend to elicit stronger levels of gratitude.

Anyway, I’m grateful for so many things in my life, and love to journal about them.

 xo Tammy